Outboard motor lock



May 26, 1953 w. A. WARDIUS OUTBOARD MOTOR LOCK Filed Aug. 14, 1950 INVENTOR WALTER A.WARDIUS ATTORNEYS Patented May 26, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OUTBOARD MOTOR LOCK Walter A. Wardius, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application August 14, 1950, Serial No. 179,156

3 Claims. 1

This invention appertains to boats, and more particularly to a novel means for securing an outboard motor to the stern of a boat for prevent ing accidental loss of the motor from the boat and for preventing'removal of the motor from the boat by unauthorized persons, and is an improvement over my prior invention shown in plication Serial No. 1*],45'7, filed March 27, 1948, now Patent No. 2,592,772, issued April 15, 1952.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a novel attachment for boats for effectively receiving the stern bracket and its clamping screws of an outboard motor, with means forming a part of the attachment for engaging the clamping screws, irrespective of the variation of brackets, and positions of screws of different makes of motors, so that movement of the screws and consequently the bracket prevented except by. authorized persons.

Another salient object of the invention to provide a flexible steel cable carried by the attachment for engaging .over the screws between the boat and the stern bracket arms, with means for locking the cable in place, so that accidental displacement of the stern bracket .or intentional removal thereof with the motor is prevented until the cable is released by the person in charge of the boat and motor.

A further important object of my invention is to provide a novel transom guard plate for the boat at the point of attachment of an outboard motor with the boat and novel means for ,as'sociating the holding steel cable for the stern bracket screws with the guard plate, so that active length of cable can be adjusted within certain limits for engaging over stern bracket screws disposed in varying positions.

A still further important object of th invcntion, is to provide an attachment of the above character, which will be simple and durable in use, one that will be simple and easy to manuiacture and one which can be readily applied to a boat and at a reasonable cost.

With these and other objects in view, the irvcntion consists in the :novel construction, ar

rangement and formation of parts, as will he hereinafter more specifically described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompany ng drawing, in which drawing,

Figure '1 is a front elevational view .of

novel attachment associated with the transom or stern :boardof a boat and -.engaging and looking the stern bracket of an outboard motor in place, parts .of :the figure :being shown in section :and the parts in section being taken cub- 2 stantiall on the line i-! of Figure :2, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 2 is a vertical central sectional view, taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a detail fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the means employed for adjustably connecting one end of the holding cable on the transom guard plate.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the novel means employed for locking the normally free end of the cable to the transom guard plate.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional View taken at right angles to Figure l and on the line 5-5 of Figure looking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the locking means for the normallyfree end of the cable.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates my novel attachment for a boat B for securing an outboard motor assembly M in place.

The boat 13 can be of any desired type orcharacter and includes the usual. rearwardly and upwardly angled transom or stern board it.

The outboard motor assembly M includes the usual forwardly extending bracket neck 'il formed on or carried by the frame or drive housing i2 of the outboard motor. The neck ii includes the hollow hinge barrel it, which will he later referred to. Also forming a part of the outboard motor assembly M is a sternbracket Hi. This bracket includes an outer plate it for en gaging the cuter face of the transom is and spaced clamping arms lli which a ge over the upper edge of the transom or std- 'boa rd Iii. These arms is carry the clamping scie s ti having the buttons 18 which usually eng 'e the inher face of the transom .or stern boa. is for rigidly securing the stern bracket to the boat. The arms it also have formed thereon hinge barrels iii, which receive the hinge barrel 43 of the bracket neck .l .l therebetween. The hinge barrels l3 and 19 receive the tilting bolt .Zil, whereby the motor can be swung ,or tilted on the stern bracket. A holding sleeve 21 can ,be placed on the bolt 2i! in intimate engagement with wall of the :hinge barrel l3 and this holding sleeveis secured on the bolt against displacement by suitable key or sc w .n- The hing barre Hi n t v dedwith o ening is dis os d in such a position that the same will only be in alignment with the screw 22 when the stern bracket is tilted to a certain position.

Referring to my novel attachment A, the same comprises a transom guard plate 24, which engages the inner face of the transom or stern board ID. A stern board protecting flange 25 is formed on the upper edge of the guard plate and extends over the upper edge of the transom or stern board Ill; The guard plate is rigidly and permanently secured to the transom or stern board It by screws 26 and certain of these screws extend through the flange 25 and others extend through the plate 24 itself. The screws are so positioned that the same will normally be inaccessible to unauthorized persons, when the stern bracket is locked to the attachment as will be later set forth. The stern guard plate 24 can be notched at suitable points to receive boat; frame braces should such be necessary. It is to be also noted that the guard plate 24 is reduced in thickness on each side of itstransverse center, as at 21, and the buttons I8 of the clamping screws I! are adapted to bite against these portions of the plate. y

The plate is provided at one lower corner with an internally threaded boss 28 and at its QDDosite lower corner with a substantially vertically disposed-enlargement or boss 29. I

Forming an important feature of the invention and the attachment-Aisthe holding cable 30, preferably formed from steelwire and one end of the cable is rigidly anchored to a threaded plug 3|. The plug 3| is threaded into the boss 28 and by threading this plug in and out of the boss, the active length of the cable can be varied within certain limitations. The opposite normally free end of the cable is provided with an eye or apertured ear 32, whichis adapted to fit over a headed stud 33 rigidly secured to the guard plate 24 directly above the boss 29. A latch cover plate 34 is pivotally secured, as at 35 to the plate 24 above the stud and the latch cover plate 34 can be swung over the headed stud 33 in one position for preventing displacement of the eye 32 and to another position to permit removal of the eye32 from the stud. The inner face of the latch cover plate 34 can have its inner face grooved as at 36 for receiving and housing the head of the stud 33 when the latch plate is swung over the stud. Means is provided for looking the cover latch plate 34 in position over the headed stud and this means includes a lock screw 31 threaded in a bore 38 formed in the boss 29. The lower face of the cover latch plate 34 is provided with a socket 39 which aligns with the threaded bore when the latch plate is in its operative position. The screw 31 has formed thereon a head 40 having a diametrically extending opening 4| therethrough for the reception of a shackle 42 of a padlock 43, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. When the padlock is in place, the shackle thereof will abut against the sides of the boss and prevent turning of the screw.

In operation, the transom guard plate 24 is rigidly secured to the boat by the screws 26, after which the stern bracket I4 carrying the motor is placed over the transom or stern board I and the screws I! carried by the arm I6 are threaded until the clamping buttons I8 firmly bind against the guard plate. The flexible steel cable 30 is now threaded between the arms I6 of the stern bracket and the attaching plate and the buttons I8 over the screws IT. The cover latch plate 34 is swung away from the stud 33 and the eye 32 is placed over the stud after which the latch plate 34 is swung back to its normal position, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The screw 31 is threaded inwardly into the socket 39 and the padlock is then placed on the screw. Obviously, swinging of the cover latch plate 34 is prevented and the cable engaging over the clamp screws I! will prevent removal of the stern bracket I4 and the motor from the boat by unauthorized persons. In view of the engagement of the cable 30 with the clamp screws, accidental displacement of the stern bracket is prevented. By threading the plug 3| inward or outward of the boss 28, the active length of the cable can be governed according to the position of the clamping screws ll relative to the transom guard plate 24 7 When the cable 30 is in its locked position, turning of the plug 3I is prevented.

-While the stern bracket is firmly held in place,

the motor can be tilted on the stern bracket through the tilting bolt 2!].

Attention is now directed to the location of the fastening screws 26 for the guard plate 24. By referring to Figures 3 and 4, it will be noted that the screws 26 for the plate are disposed in rear of the cable 30 and the cover latch 34 adjacent to the bosses 28 and 29. Consequently, when the cable 30 is in its holding position, access to these screws is prevented. The screws 26 for the flange 25 of the guard plate are located directly under the arms I6 of the stern bracket I4. Hence, when the screws I! are heldby the cable so that the stern bracket cannot be removed, access to the screws is impossible.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided an exceptionally simple and rugged attachment for boats for effectively holding an outboard motor thereof against loss and theft. The transom guard plate 24 functions to strengthen the transom or stem board I0 and prevent wear thereof by the stern bracket 24 and the buttons of the clamping screws 11.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. An attachment for preventing loss and theft of outboard motors from a boat comprising a guard plate rigidly secured to the transom of a boat against which the clamp screws of the stern bracket of an outboard motor are adapted to engage, a flexible cable secured at One end to the guard plate adapted to be passed over the clamp screws of the stern bracket, a stud on said guard plate, an eye rigidly carried by the free end of the cable for receiving said stud, and a movable cover latch carried by the guard plate for engaging over the stud and eye in one of its positions.

2. An attachment for preventing loss and theft of outboard motors from a boat comprising a guard plate rigidly secured to the transom of a boat against which the clamp screws of the stern bracket of an outboard motor are adapted to engage, a flexible cable secured at one end to the guard plate adapted to be passed over the clamp screws of the stern bracket, a stud on said guard plate, an eye rigidly carried by the free end of the cable for receiving said stud, a movable cover latch carried by the guard plate for engaging over the stud and eye in one of its positions and means for locking the latch plate against movement in its stud and eye engaging position.

3. An attachment for preventing loss and theft of outboard motors from a boat comprising a guard plate rigidly secured to the transom of a boat against which the clamp screws of the stern bracket of an outboard motor are adapted to engage, a flexible cable secured at one end to the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number guard plate for engagement with the cover latch, 10 Number said headed screw having a padlock receiving eye.

WALTER A. WARDIUS.

Name Date Johnson June '7, 1921 Homan June 7, 1949 Enrico Oct, 9, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Austria June 25, 1935 

